Pinning Question

[John Delacour]

At 7:40 PM -0500 3/25/01, Clark A. Sprague wrote:

>         I would like your opinions regarding which is your preferred
>method for pinning a new pinblock.  Do you use:  pin driving fluid,
>varnish, or nothing (or something else?)?  I know that I use nothing, but
>only because that is the way I was taught.  A newer technician I just
>duplicated a pinblock for is surely going to ask me, and I would like the
>preferences of this incredibly knowledgable list!

I was taught to use chalk when I began and it is very common in 
England to do so.  The good thing about chalk is that it keeps your 
hands nice and dry so no salt gets on the pin.

However for at least 18 years I've used resin.  I liked the feel of 
Bechstein pins and decided one day to smell one and see what they 
used.  It was resin.  I just use cheap commercial resin which I buy 
very cheap by the kilo.  It's much more crumbly than fiddle resin and 
I just give the pin a few strokes with a lump of it.  The only 
problem with resin is that you have to wash your hands often as they 
get sticky and you have to vacuum it out well when the job's 
finished, but it gives a very good feel to the pin.

JD